FOREST RESOURCES OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS - 

A Progress Report 

by 

THE SOUTHERN FOREST SURVEY 

I. F. Eldredge 

Regional Survey Director 

// 

FOREST SURVEY RELEASE NO. 27 July 31, 1937 

SOUTHERN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 

E.. L. Demmon, Director 

New Orleans, La. 
FOREWORD 

The nation-wide Forest Survey, being made by the United 

States Forest Service, was authorized by the McSweeney-McNary 

Forest Research Act of 1928. Its five-fold object is: (1) to 

make an inventory of the present supply of timber and other 

forest products, (2) to ascertain the rate at which this supply is being increased through growth, (3) to determine the 

rate at which this supply is being diminished through industrial and local use, windfall, fire, and disease, (4) to determine the present requirement and the probable future trend 

in the requirement for timber and other forest products, and 

(5) to correlate these findings with existing and anticipated 

economic conditions, in order that policies can be formulated 

for the effective use of land suitable for forest production. 

In the South, the Forest Survey functions as an activity 

of the Southern Forest Experiment Station with headquarters at 

New Orleans, La. 

This release contains Forest Survey data that will be included in complete reports to be published later. It should 

therefore be regarded as a progress report. Although considered reliable, the data are subject to correction or amplification as the work of computation proceeds. 

Staff Assignment 

In Charge of Field Work and Preparation of Report 

James W. Cruikshank - Associate Forest Economist 

In Charge of Computations 

F. R. Wheeler - Associate Forest Economist 
FOREST RESOURCES OF SOUTHWEST ARKANSAS 

General Description of the Unit -- 

This report deals with the forest resources in that portion of Arkansas 

lying west of the alluvial delta of the Mississippi River and south of the 

Ouachita Mountains. This area of 8,931,900 cres comprises 18 counties and 

parts of 4 others. Texarkana and Pine Bluff 1 re the two largest cities in the 

Unit, but much of the business activity affecting the Unit centers in Little 

Rock, which is a short distance northeast of the Unit boundary. Approximately 

69 percent of the land surface of the Unit supports some kind of forest 

growth; and agriculture and forest industries are the chief activities, although the petroleum industry is important in certain localities. Shortleaf 

and loblolly pines in mixture with hardwoods are the predominating forest 

trees of the region. 

The Ouachita Mountains, which occur along the northern edge of the 

Unit, have elevations as high as 2,340 feet. South of these mountains lies 

the Athens Plateau, which gradually merges into the Gulf Coastal Plain, a 

rolling country that slopes gently toward the South and varies in elevation 

from 200 to 400 feet above sea level. About 90 percent of the Unit is in this 

Coastal Plain. Drainage is adequate; at times, it is even excessive. The Red 

and the Ouachita Rivers with their tributaries drain the western and central 

portions of the Unit, while the extreme eastern tier of counties is drained by 

Bartholomew Bayou. All these streams flow south or southeast. 

The Unit is covered with a network of railroads. Several main-line 

systems with numerous, secondary feeder roads provide adequate railroad transportation within the Unit and to outside points. Main highways are few, but 

many of the secondary roads are suitable for all-weather travel. Water transportation is limited to barge service on the Ouachita River as far north as 

Camden. Numerous pipe lines transport crude oil from the Eldorado field to 

refineries, while two gas companies have lines distributing natural gas to the 

larger towns. 

In 1930 the population was 459,000, or 22.5 percent more than in 1910. 

Only 21 percent of the people live in towns of 2,500 or more; the remainder 

live on farms or in small communities adjacent to wood-working plants. Agriculture is the chief occupation of 57 percent of the people; forest industries 

employ 7 percent; and all other industries, 36 percent. Forest industries 

have a greater importance than these percentages signify, however, because a 

large proportion of the farm operators are employed part-time in the harvesting or manufacture of forest products. 

Agriculture is the most important industry in the Unit. According to 

the census of 1935, there were nearly 60,000 farms in the Unit containing approximately 4 million acres of land. The average farm contains 67.2 acres, of 

which 27.6 acres are woodland. There has been an increase of 2.1 percent in 

the rmber of farms since 1930 and an area increase of about 400,000 acres. 

Most of this increased area is woodland which has not yet been cleared, as 

land available for crops increased only 60,000 acres. The Forest Survey shows 

about 274,000 acres of agricultural land standing idle and almost 150,000 acres 
that have been definitely abandoned for agricultural-crop production. Diversified farming is generally practiced, although specialized truck and orchard 

crops are important sources of income in certain localities. 

The largest proportion of land area is in farms, the combined acreage 

totalling about 45 percent of the Unit. This acreage is cultivated by 60,000 

operators, 43 percent of whom are sole or part owners of their land, while the 

remainder are croppers or tenants. Available records show that 2,000,000 

acres of forest land, or over 20 percent of the total area of the Unit, are owned 

by 20 companies, the majority of which are operating sawmills; but large'acreages 

are controlled by a few land-holding and paper-mill companies. The largest individual ownership recorded is 560,000 acres, while there are several of over 100,000 

acres. 

Tax delinquency is less in this section of Arkansas than in the Delta and 

mountain regions of the State. Only 3.4 percent of the gross land area in the 

Unit had been tax delinquent for at least 3 years on July 1, 193L. 

The distribution of the land area of the Unit, according to the classes 

of land use recognized by the Survey, is shown in table 1. 

Table 1. - Land area classified according to land use 

Land use Area Percent of total area 

-- 

Forest: 

Productive 

---- Acres - - - - 

6,097,900 

Nonproductive 7,300 0.1 

Total forest 6,105,200 68.L 

Nonf orest: 

Agricultural: 

In cultivation: 

Old cropland 1,813,900 

New cropland 59,600 

Out of cultivation : 

Idle 273,700 

Abandoned 148,900 

Pasture 329,300 

Total agricultural 2,625,400 

Other nonf orest 201,301! -- 2.2 

Total nonforest areas 2,826,700 31.6 

TotaLforest and nonforest 8,931,900 100.0 
IN SOUTHWESTERN ARKANSAS 

PREPARED BY FOREST SURVEY 

SOUTHERN FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION 

FROM MTA COLLECTW 1936 

FOREST TYPES 

m SH-*F-p.,mC7 YhQNAF-L08LOCLY-HDWDS 

UE6lO LOeLOLLY-HDWDS. 

MIXED URAND HDWDS 

R MlXW (YITTWLAND HDWDS 

O PRAIRIE 

TIR SW- INDICATE mEAI WE 

TM ClYEN TIR RIEDMINATES. BVi TK -WENT !XCAL OCNWNCF Oi 

OTKR -S 15 NOT A1ECLmD 

STATUTE MOLES 

TEXAS 
Description of the Forest 

Over 68 percent of the forest area is in rolling uplands; 16 percent is 

in river bottoms; and the remainder is distributed among swamps and poorly 

drained benches. Broadly speaking, the forests of the Unit can be classified 

either as mixed-pine-hardwoods or as pure hardwoods. Most common are the 

second-growth stands of shortleaf and loblolly in mixture with various hardwoods. In general there is a larger proportion of loblolly in the southern 

part of the Unit than along the foothills of the Ouachita Flountains, where 

shortleaf mixed with hardwoods is the usual association. Along the rivers 

and in many of the smaller stream-bottoms is found the bottomland hardwood 

type, made up principally of red and black gums, red and white oaks, cypress, 

and ash. Stands of red gum, post oak, hickory, and a few pines form the upland hardwood type, which occurs in scattered patches throughout the pine 

stands . 

Table 2. - Forest area classified according to forest 

condition and forest type-group 

- - - - - - - - - Acres &/ - - - - - - - - - - - 

Old growth: 

Uncut 48,300 30,600 58,800 189,200 326,900 5 -3 

Partly cut 35,500 65,200 87,700 292,200 480,600 7.9 

Total 83,800 95,800 146,500 481,400 807,500 13.2 

Forest type-group 

Forest condition 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size: 

Uncut 1,247,100 645,700 155,400 359,900 2,408,100 39.5 

Partly cut 557,900 537,000 144,900 185,200 1,425,000 23.4 

Under sawlog-size 289,900 463,700 336,600 237,500 1,327,700 21.8 

Reproduction - 5,600 29,800 82,100 12,100 129,600 2.1 

-, 

Total all 

Pine types 

Total - 2,100,5001,676,200 719,000 79107005,290,400 86.8 

Percent 

of total 

Total all 

conditions 2,184,300 1,772,000 865,500 1,276,100 6,097,900 100.0 

Pine 

hardwoods 

Percent of total 

-- forest area 35.8 29.1 14.2 20.9 100.0 

- 1/ Area in clear-cut and fire-killed condition is negligible. 

Upland 

hardwoods 

Bottomlad 

hardwoods 
The pure pine types and the pine-hardwoods together cover 65 percent, 

or nearly f+ million acres, of the forest area, and collectively make up the 

shortleaf-loblolly-hardwood association. In the pure pine stands, the pines 

make up nearly 84 percent of the net cubic vol~une in the type, while in the 

pine-hardwoods, the pine component is only 52 percent of the net cubic volume. 

The bottomland-hardwoods are most fully developed in the bottoms along the 

Red, Ouachita, and Saline Rivers, although the smaller streams flowing through 

d-p?sits of recent alluvium are generally bordered by this type. As a result, 

such stands are often widely scattered in "stringers" along the streams rather 

than in continuous tracts. The total acreage of bottomland hardwoods in the 

Unit is about 1& million acres, or 21 percent of the forest area. The upland 

hardwoods generally occur in the rolling lands and often in small, scattered 

patches; the most extensive area lies north of Monticello and east of Rison. 

In limited areas, the hardwoods are so stuntea and of such poor quality that 

they are classified as scrub hardwoods. The total area of these scrub stands 

amounts to less than 30,000 acres. The combined acreage of the upland and 

scrub hardwoods is 865,500 acres, or 14 percent of the forest land. 

As shown in table 2, about 13 percent of the total forest area is oldgrowth, over half of which, or 481,400 acres, is in bottomland hardwoods. The 

advanced stage of restocking since the removal of the original timber is indicated by the presence of sawlog-size second-growth stands averaging 35 to 45 

years of age on 62.9 percent of the total forest area. Young stands under 

sawlog-size occur on 21.8 percent, and reproduction on 2.1 percent of the 

forest area, while the clear-cut acreage is negligible. 
Volume Estimates 

Board-foot volume 

In the estimate given in table 3, the stand of sound sawlog-size trees 

is expressed in terms of board feet, as measured by the Doyle log-rule. The 

volumes are log scale, that is, allowance has been made for material that 

would be left in the woods because of rot, fire-scar, crook, limbiness, and 

similar defects, as well as for loss in sawing at the mill due to sweep and 

hidden defects. Volume was included to the upper limit of usable material in 

the tops rather than to a fixed top diameter, but no pine logs less than 5.5 

inches in diameter at the small end nor any hardwood logs less than 8.5 inches 

were included. The sawlog-size trees included in the volume estimate must 

contain at least one sound 12-foot butt log, or 50 percent of the gross volume 

of the tree must be sound material. In addition, hardwoods must have a minimum 

d.b.h. outside bark of 13 inches, and pines, of 9 inches. 

Table 3 shows that the total board-foot volume by the Doyle rule is 

12-1/3 billion feet. Practically all of this volume is so located as to be 

physically accessible for logging. Nearly 87 percent of the forest area 

supporting this stand is stocked with a second crop of timbcr standing over 

the stumps left in logging the original old growth. Availability for cutting, 

however, depends on the volume per acre and quality of the stand as well as 

on accessibility. Some of the stands are too light to allow immediate logging, but it must be understood that the utilization of this forest, under 

any circumstances, will be spread over a considerable length of time and that 

the natural growth of trees is continually increasing the number, size, and 

volume of trees in these stands. In 1936 the inventory showed that 10 of the 

12-1/3 billion feet of sawtimber was located in stands that averaged 3,000 

feet per acre, all of which contained more than 600 feet per acre. 

Pines account for 54.6 percent of the total volume, and hardwoods for 

45.4 percent. Loblolly is the leading pine component of the stand, while red 

oak and red gum are the most abundant hardwoods. Although the volume of hickory is-small compared with that of other hardwoods, the 288% million board 

feet of hickory are the basis for an important handle industry in southwest 

Arkansas. 
Table 3. - Net volume (Doyle) classified according to species group 

and forest condition 

Total pines 628.000 343,500 5,685,600 62,700 6,719,800 5& 

Pulping hardwoods: 

Red gum 346,500 231,200 742,900 10,200 1,330,800 10.8 

Black gum 55,600 113,100 189,500 6,300 364,500 3.0 

Others 57,800 79,800 83,300 2,500 223,400 1.8 

Percent 

of total Species group Partly 

Uncut 

-- - 

Nonpulping hardwoods: 

Red oaks 32/+,500 329,200 901,000 21,300 1,576,000 12.8 

White oaks 293,900 157,500 363,400 9,000 823,800 6.7 

Post oak 62,300 75,800 268,900 9,500 416,500 3.4 

Hickory 46,600 70,300 163,100 8,500 288,500 2.3 

Ash 14,200 18,600 28,900 3,300 65,000 .5 

Others 139,500 142,600 212,800 8,500 503,400 4.1 

- - - - - - - - Thousand board feet - - - - - - - - 

Pines : 

Shortleaf 193,400 145,7002,053,100 29,600 2,421,800 19.7 

Loblolly 43L600 197,800 3,632,500 33,100 4,298,000 34.9 

Total hardwoods 1,140,900 1,218,100 2,953- 

Second growth 

Total all 

species 1,%8,900 1,561,600 8,639,400 141,800 12,311,700 100.0 

Sawlog 

size 

Percent of total 16.0 - 12.7 70.1 1.2 100.0 

Under 

Bawlof/ size - 

&' Includes areas classified as reproduction; clear-cut areas are negligible. 
For the Unit as a whole, 28.7 percent of the total board-foot volume 

occurs in the old-growth condition. Consideration of the pine and hardwood 

volumes separately reveals only 14.5 percent of the total pine-volume in the 

old-growth condition as contrasted with 45.8 percent of the hardwood volume. 

In the old-growth uncut pure pine types, the average stand per acre is 13,600 

feet (lumber tally), of which 13,000 is pins. In the old-growth pine-hardwood 

types, the average stand is 9,900 feet per acre, of which 6,300 feet is pine. 

In the old-growth uncut bottomland hardwood type, the average stand per acre 

is 7,300 feet, practically all of which is in hardwoods. 

Second-growth pine and pine-hardwoods are the predominating forest 

stands in southwestern Arkansas. Occupying 61.9 prcent of the forest area, 

this young forest contains 63.7 percent of the total sawtimber volume. At 

present the second-growth uncut stands of sawlog size in the pure pine types 

average 5,100 feet (lumber tally) per acre, of which 4,800 feet is pine. 

Bottomland hardwood stands of similar forest conditions average 3,400 feet 

per acre, principally pure hardwoods. The upland hardwooi second-growth 

stands of sawlog size average 2,200 feet per acre, of which 200 feet is pine. 

Although the Doyle log-rule is the legal rule of Arkansas and is in 

general use for timber estimates in the South, its application to stands made 

up mainly of small trees results in a very considerable understatement of the 

actual recoverable volume. Since the International $-inch rule closely approximates green lumber tally, in the following table the volumes are measured 

according to it, in order to give a more accurate expression of the anount of 

sawtimber present. 

Table 4. - Net volume by- International $-inch rule classified according 

to species group and forest condition 

Forest condition 

-- 

- - - - - - - - - Tnousand boar6 feet - - - - - - - - - 

Old growth: 

Uncut 870,500 577,100 1,092,600 2,540,200 

Parily cut. 531.,500 576,200 1,019,900 2,127,600 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size 

1/ 

10,260,200 1,467,600 2,671,600 14,399,400 

Under sawlog size - --l_!2AoC2--30,hOO -- 91,900 - 265,300 

Total all 

conditions 11 805,000 2 , 651 . 500 4,876,000_- 19,332,5_00_ 

IJ' Includes reproduction; clear-cut acreage is negligible. 
Cordwood volume 

In estimating the cordwood volume, the entire stand of good trees at 

least 5 inches d.b.h., outside the bark, is expressed in terms of standard 

(f+ x 4 x 8 feet) cords. It should be understood that sawlog-size trees which 

have been covered in the estimate of board-foot volume are also included in 

this estimate. In addition, in table 5 only, an estimate of the net sound 

material in cull trees is included. The volume shown in the column "Sound 

trees sawlog size" in this table includes only the cordwood in the merchantable sawlog portion of the stems of sound trees. That part of the stem above 

the sawlogs ie the upper stems) taken to a variable diameter, but not to 

less than 4 inches, is given under "Tops of sawlog-size trees." In this 

volume the stem only is included in pines, but in the hardwoods the usable 

limbs are also included to a &inch diameter. In the column "Sound trees 

under sawlog size," the full stems of both pines and hardwoods are included 

to a variable usable diameter with a minimum of 4 inches. The volume shown 

under "Sound and rotten cull trees" includes the timber cruiser's estimate of 

the recoverable sound portion of such trees. Deduction from the volume is made 

for woods cull, that is, that part of the tree that would be left in the woods 

because of rot, fire-scar, crook, bad knots, or other defects. In presenting 

these data on the sound material in cull trees and in the top stems of sawlog 

trzes, it should be noted that no estimate is made of the extent to which such 

material can or will be used for pulp, fuel, or other uses. Although the 

sound material is there, it may not be economically feasible to use it. 

The pine volume shown is composed of loblolly and shortleaf pine; trees 

less than 9 inches in diameter make up a quarter of the total pine volume. 

The pulping hardwood species include red gum, black gum, tupelo gum, bay, and 

maple; red gun is by far the most important species from the standpoint of 

volume. Cypress is also included with the pulping hardwoods because it can 

be pulped, even though at present it is not generally used. Nearly 8 million 

cords of pulping hardwoods are in cull trees and tops of sawlog-size trees. 

The oaks are the most important nonpulpi~g hardwoods, but hickory, elm, and 

ash are also prevalent. In the nonpul-ping hardwoods, 15 million cords of 

material in tops of sound trees and in cull trees will oe available for use 

when suitable utilization processes dre developed. 
Table 5. - Net volume of all sound material, expressed in cords 

I Source of material I I 

I trees 1 / and rotten I all classes I of total 

Tops of Species group 

sawlog size- lder sawlog cull trees 

size trees size 

Pines 26,851,100~878,300_1~20,300 -- 483aO 4232,900 40.6 

Hardwoods : 

Pulping 6,656,500 3,432,000 7,457,400 4,407,400 21,953,300 20.3 

Nonpulping ll,747,400 6,663,400 15,4i8&0&/8,372,200 - 42,201,400 39.1 

Total 

hardwoods 18,403,900 10,095,400 22,875,800 12,779,600 64.i5L.700 59.4 

Total all 

species 45,255,000 14,973,700 34,496,100 13,262,800 107,987,600 100.0 

- Percent of total 41.9- 13. %- 31.9 12.3 100.0 - 

- 1/ Includes scrub oak volume. 

The cordwood volume classified according to species group and diamete~ 

of trees is shown graphically in figure 2. Although the volume shown here 

does not include cull trees or tops and limbs of sawlog-size hardwood trees, 

it does include all sound trees to the limits described above. 
Tree 

Species-group diameter- Million cords 

8 12 16 20 24 28 32 

Pines 

Pulping 

hardwoods: 

Total pulping 6 & 8 

species 

Nonpulping 

hardwoods: 

Total all 6& 8 

species 10 & 12 

1L & cver 

L I I I I I I I I 

Figure 2. - Cordwood volume of pulping and nonpulping species 

In table 6 is given the cordwood volume in sound trees on the average 

acre of the various forest conditions in each type-group. This cordwood 

volume, which includes only the stemwood of sound trees to a flexible &-inch 

top diameter in all pines and in hardwoods under sawlog-cize, and the merchantable sawtimber of sawlog-size hardwoods, is further separated into pines, 

pulping hardwoods, and nonpulping hardwoods. The average stands per acre were 

obtained by dividing the total volume of wood for a given type and forest condition by the total number of acres in that classification. The resulting 

values, therefore, are somewhat generalized but may be used for approximating 

cordwood volumes on large areas, where the areas in the various types and 

forest conditions have been determined. 
Table 6. - Net cordwood volume on the average acre, classified according 

to type-group, species-group, and forest condition 

- - - - - - - - - - - Cords - - - - - - - - - - - 

Pure pine type-group: 

Pines 30.0 16.2 17.4 11.2 4.6 - 14.2 

Pulping hardwoods 1.6 0.5 1.1 0.9 0.2 - 1.0 

Nonpulping hardwoods -. 3.5 3.1 2.5 2.2 0.4 - 2.2 

Type-groups and 

species-groups therein 

Total species 35.1 19.8 21.0 14.3 5.2 - 17.4 

Pine hardwood type-group: 

Pines 15.6 10.6 9.0 6.2 1.6 0. 6.3 

Pulping hardwoods 3.6 3.0 2.9 2.4 0.7 (17) 2.1 

Nonpulping hardwoods 8.5 6.1 5.8 4 1.5 - 

Total species 27.7 19.7 17.7 13.5 3.8 0.2 12.8 

Second growth ClearEg size Under 

Old growth 

Upland hardwood type-group: 

Pines 2.1 1.8 1.2 0.8 0.2 (d) 0.7 

Pulping hardwoods 2.3 2.9 2.9 2.6 0.6 (1) 1.7 

Nonpulping hardwoods 9.L 7.7 7.4 6.0 2.6 (11) 4.8 

Uncut 

Total species a8 12.L -. 11.5 9.L 3.L (I/) - 7.2 

Partly 

cut 

Bottomland hardwood type-group: 

Pines 0.6 0.5 0.2 0.3 0.1 - 0.3 

Pulping hardwoods 7.1 5.5 6.4 5.5 2.2 - 5.3 

Nonpulping hardwoods 13.3 9.5 8.5 7.1 3.4 0.2 8.3 

Total species 21.0 15.5 15.1 12.9 5.7 0.2 13.9 

Average of all type groups:~/ 

Pines 6.6 3.2 11.5 6.8 1.6 7.1 

Pulping hardwoods 

4.6 

5.1 , 4.3 2.5 2.3 0.8 (1 ) 2.3 

Nonpulping hardwoods 10.8 8.3 4.2 1.9 (u) 4.5 

Total species 22.5 15.8 18.6 13.3 4.3 0.1 13.9 

- 1/ Negligible. 

- 2/ Represents -the average over the total forest area. 
Pine poles and piles 

An estimate of the number of pine poles and piles that will meet stand 

ard specifications is shown in table 7 by length and tree diameter, but because of the recognized difficulty of judging the suitability of standing 

trees for poles or piles, the estimate given here is conservative and likely 

to be short of the actual number found in the Unit. More reliable is the indication of the proportion of lengths and sizes occurring in the forest 

stands. It should be noted also that these poles and piles are included in 

the volume estimates shown in previous tables. 

Table 7. - Total number of pine poles or piles, classified according 

to length and diameter 

Inches ------------ Thousand sticks - - - - - - - - - - - 

D.B.H. Pole or pile length (feet) 

Total 10,865 7,342- 5.243 92 1,227 48g 306 27,390 100.0 . 

(outside 

Percent of 

- total -- 39.7 26.8 19.1 LO 4.5- 1.8 1.1 100.0 

Forest Increment Within -- the Unit. 

30 

Individual trees increase in volume from year to year only when the 

volume added through growth exceeds that lost through decay. The increment 

of a forest stand is the net volume (added periodically) due to increase in 

the volume of the trees in the stand (i.e., with mortality losses deducted) 

plus that added by the accession of new trees from the smaller diameterclasses. Forest increment, therefore, represents the cut which can be made 

periodically without reducing the volume represented bj the original growing 

stock. 

35 

- -rn3--1 Total lp

-- bark) -. - - or over 
Current annual increment percent 

In table 8 is given the increment rates of pines and hardwoods in the 

various forest conditions during 1936, which may not necessarily hold as the 

average for a given 10-year period. The increment rate in the under-sawlog- - size condition is exceptionally high because of the large volume of trees recruited into the stand from saplings during the year. 

Table 8. - Rate of increase (current annual increment) of stands in the 

various forest conditions, 1936 

Pines Hardwoods 

Forest condition 

Board 

- - - - - - - - - - - - Percent - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Old growth: 

Uncut 2.8 2.6 2.3 1.8 

Partly cut 5.2 5.0 4.2 3.0 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size: 

Uncut 6.8 

Partly cut 6.4 

Under sawlog size 57.3 

Reproduction 9.2 

Wei~hted averages 7.0 5.1 5.1 3.9 

Increment per acre 

The increment percents, as given in table 8, may be multiplied by the 

average volume per acre to arrive at the increment per average acre during 

1936. In table 9 the increment per acre in the various forest conditions is 

expressed in board feet and cords. Since the increment shown here includes 

growth on that portion of the stand that would normally be removed as utilization drain, to this extent it is higher thm the actual increment per acre 

during that year. The per-acre board-foot volumes from which increment is computed include only sawtimber material, while cordwood volumes include sawtimber, 

trees under sawlog-size, and upper stems of sawlog-size pine trees. 
Table 9. - Increment on the average acre in the various forest conditions, 1936 

Forest condition I Pines I Hardwoods 

Board feet Cords Board feet Cords 

Old growth: 

Uncut 74 .17 118 .29 

Partly cut 58 .16 139 .38 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size: 

Uncut 217 .56 67 -30 

Partly cut 116 .27 .25 

Under sawlog size 63 .19 

Reproduction ~24 (I/) - 

Weighted ayerwes 135 76 63 .27 

Negligible. 

Forest increment 

Table 10 shows the net volume of wood added to the sound-tree inventory 

during 1936, expressed in board feet and in cubic feet. In arriving at this 

estimate, corrections were made for mortality and for growth on those trees 

that were removed from the stand for utilization throughout the year. The 

volume expressed in board feet is increment of sawtimber only, while the volume 

expressed in cubic feet includes increment in sawtimber, in material in trees 

under sawlog size, and in upper stems of sawlog-size pine trees. Increment 

in board-foot material is expressed in lumber tally, as measured by the 

International a-inch rule. 

The increment on the 19 billion feet inventory (International $-inch 

rule) was 1,169,200,000 feet in 1976. Of this total increment, 13 percent 

was in old-growth stands averaging 5,780 board feet per acre and 78 percent 

was in second-growth sawlog-size stands that averaged 3,760 board feet per 

acre. Of the total increment, 103 million board feet, or 9 percent, occurred 

in under-sawlog-size stands with a volume of less than 400 feet per acre as 

of January 1, 1936. 

When considering the effect of the quality of the increment on its 

utilization, it should be recalled that since the removal of the original 

timber the land has restocked to second growth on 87 percent of the forest 

area. The quality of this second-growth timber is obviously not as good as 

that of the old-growth stands, but a field canvass of the sawmills operating 

in the unit showed that all of the mills cutting under 20 thousand board 

feet per day were using second growth entirely. Mills in the 20 to 79 thousand-foot class were cutting 97 percent second growth, and mills cutting over 

80 thousand feet were using 40 percent second growth. Two of the largest 

mills in the Unit, which are cutting 40 percent second growth, are on a 

recognized sustained-yield basis. One of these mills is operating on the 

basis that as little as 500 board feet per acre can be logged at a profit, 

and many other mills are logging stands as light as this where they are 

intermixed with better stands. 
Table 10. - Forest increment in board-feet and in cubic-feet 

in the various forest conditions, 1936 

- - Thousand board feet - - - - Thousand cubic feet - - 

Forest condition 

Old growth 48,500 103,200 151,700 11,380 21,380 32,760 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size 675,400 238,700 9ll+,100 153,590 85,060 238,650 

Under sawlog size 75,800 27,400 103,200 29,270 20,480 49,750 

Reproduction 100 - 100 200 50 20 70 

Total all 

conditions 799,800 369,400 1,169,200 194,290 126,940 321,230 

Sawtimber material 

The cubic-foot increment shown in table 10 is expressed in cords in table 11. 

All material 

Pine Total Pine 

Old growth 126,500 267,200 393,700 

Hardwood 

Table 11. - Forest increment expressed in cords in the 

various forest conditions, 1976 

Second growth: 

Sawlog size 1,706,500 1,063,300 2,769,800 

Under sawlog size 325,3CO 256,000 581,300 

Reproduction -- 500 300 800 

Hardwood 

Forest condition 

Total all 

conditions 2,158,800 1,586,800 3,745,600 

Total 

Pine Hardwood Total 
Forest Industries 

-- Sawmills 

Table 12 shows the approximate number of sawmills in the Unit during 

1936, as well as the number of man-days of labor required in logging and 

operating these mills. With improving conditions in the lumber industry, 

there has been a gradual increase in the number of sawmills operating in this 

area. Most noticeable is the increase in the number of pine mills cutting 20 

to 39 thousand board feet per day. Equipped with machinery for manufacturing 

finished lumber and buying logs hauled in by truck, these mills typify the 

trend from operators of immobile units, dependent upon large ownerships of 

virgin timber, to small operators owning little, if any, timber and buying 

logs upon the open market. 

Table 12. - Number of sawmills and extent of employment, classified 

according to size-class of mill, 1936 

Under 20 354 32 386 172 313 485 

20 - 39 50 4 54 150 2L2 392 

40 - 79 3 2 5 61 58 119 

80 and over 8 1 9 185 413 598 

Daily (10 hrs. ) 

rated capacity - I/ 

in M board feet 

Total 415 - 39 454 568 1,026 1,594 

The rated capacity indicates size of mill rather than actual average daily 

capcity. 

%/ The data given here on the number of mills in the smallest class are only 

estimates based upon all available records and were not checked by actual 

count, but the figures for the larger mills are based upon field counts as 

well as upon records. 

Other forest industries 

Number of mills A/ 

In addition to the 454 sawmills in the Unit during 1936, there were 2 

treating plants, 2 veneer plants, 6 cooperage plants, 12 handle plants, and 

17 plants producing shingles, excelsior, furniture squares, pulp, and hardwood 

distillation products (fig. 3). Early in 1937, a new pulp mill with a daily 

capacity of 150 tons of sulphate pulp began operations at Crossett. The production of crossties, poles and piles, fuelwood, and fence posts is an important activity and provides employment to many workers. A summary of the 

production and employment data in the various forest industries is given in 

table 13. 

Pine 

Thousand man-days of employment 

Hardwood Total Woods Mill Total 

Table 13. - Production and employment data, 19% 

---- Thousand man-days - - - - 

M bd. ft. 

Kind of plant 

or commodity 

- 

Sawmills 454 563,800 568 1,026 1,594 

Veneer 2 3,700 18 15 33 

M cu. ft. 

Treating plants 2 170 - 2 2 

Number 

Plants 

M pieces 

Crossties 

Poles and piles 

Fence posts 

Amount 

produced 

or used 

M cords 

Cooperage 6 22 43 44 87 

Handles 12 9 22 22 - 1,000 1,036 - 1,036 

44 

Fuelwood 

Miscellaneous - 1/ 17 149 190 152 3L2 

Employment 

Total 493 - 2,434 1,261 3,695 

Woods 

- 1/ Includes 12 shingle mills, 1 excelsior plant, 2 furni-Lure-square mills, 1 

pulp mill, and 1 hardwood-distillation plant. 

Employment - 

Mill 

As shown in table 13, the total employment furnished by forest utilization industries in 1936 amounted to 3,695,000 man-days. Forty-three percent 

of this was furnished by the sawmill industry, while 28 percent of the total 

labor was required for the production of fuelwood consumed within the Unit. 

Assuming a wage of $1.50 per man-day, the forest industries distributed 

$3,912,000 in wages to people within the area. If the fuelwood and fence 

posts for home consumption were produced by wage earners, an additional 

$1,630,500 would be earned. 

Total 
Utilization Drain 

In order to compare the utilization of forest commodities with the 

productive capacity of a forest, it is necessary to establish the annual 

drain on the growing stock of sound trees. This drain includes all material 

cut and utilized, as well as any incidental drain in sound material left in 

the forest as a result of cutting. It does not include material cut from 

limbs or from cull or dead trees. The first three columns of figures in table 

14 show the drain in board feet, both direct and incidental, that came from 

that part of the tree classified as sawtimber. The last three columns show 

the drain in cubic feet on sawtimber material, on material in small trees, and 

in the upper stems of pine trees of sawlog size. 

Table 14. - Utilization drain from sound trees, 1936 

Lumber 

Crossties 

Poles and piles 

Veneer 

Cooperage 

Misc. manufactures 

Wlpwood 

Fuelwood 

Fence posts 

Misc. farm use 

Commodity 

Total 

- - Thousand board feet - - - - Thousand cubic feet - - 

Comparison of Increment and Drain 

- 

Sawtimber material 

To evaluate the forest situation more accurately, a comparison of forest 

increment and utilization drain for 1936 is given in tables 15 and 16. Table 

15 compares the net sawtimber increment with the utilization drain of sawtimber, 

as expressed in the International $-inch rule, which closely approximates green 

lumber tally. 

Pine 

All material 

Hardwood Total Pine Hardwood Total 
Table 15. - Balance between increment and drain in board feet 

(International a-inch rule) 

( Pines I Hardwoods I Total 

----- Thousand board feet-- - - - - 

Net growing stock, January 1, 1936 11,805,000 7,527,500 19,332,500 

Growth, 1936 851,800 444,900 1,2%, 700 

Mortality, 19% 52,000 75,500 127,500 

Forest increment, 1936 799,800 369,400 1,169,200 

Utilization drain, 19% 671,600 335,400 1,007,000 

Net increase in growing stock, 1936 128,200 36,000 162,200 

Net growinp stock, January 1, 1937 11,933,200 7,561,500 19,494,700 

As shown in table 15, the forest increment exceeds the utilization 

drain by 128 million board feet in the pines and by 34 million feet in the 

hardwoods. The total commodity drain on old-growth pine stands is approximately 

188 million board feet, compared with an increment of 48 million; while in the 

hardwoods the total drain on old-growth stands is 130 million board feet, compared with an increment of 103 million. It follows that the old-growth timber 

is being rapidly harvested, and since the supply of old growth is definitely 

limited, the larger bodies of such timber soon will be exhausted and the supply 

reduced to scattered remnants. In the second-growth stands, however, there is 

an excess of board-foot increment over drain of 268 million feet in pine and of 

60 million feet in hardwoods. This would seem to indicate that, while the excess of increment over drain is no more than is needed as a margin of safety 

to build up the growing stock, there will be an opportunity for a greater drain 

in the future, owing (1) to the rapid replacement of slow-growing old-growth 

stands with rapid-growing young timber and (2) to the annual accumulation of 

an uncut surplus of increment on the extensive second-growth stands in the 

region. 

A comparison of increment and drain, with volumes expressed in cubic 

feet, is given in table 16. The forest increment of 321 million cubic feet 

exceeded the utilization drain by 82 million cubic feet. This total increment 

is as available for utilization as the total volume of growine stock 2escribed 

under "Volume estimates", with the possible exception of 20 million cubic feet 

of increment in the upper sterns of sawlog-size pines. Rational use of the 

forest resource dictates, however, that the 25 million cubic feet of pine, 43 

percent of which was from sawlogs, used for fuelwood in 1936, should most 

properly come from this class of material. In the pines, drain was 86 percent 

of the increment, while in the hardwoods it was only 57 percent of the increment. 
Table 16. - Balance between increment and drain in cubic feet 

----- Thousand cubic feet - - - - 

Pines 

Met growing stock, January 1, 1936 

Growth, 1936 227,720 171,050 398,770 

Mortality, 1936 33,430 44,110 77,540 

Forest increment, 1936 194,290 126,940 321,230 

Utilization drain, 1916 166,640 72,550 239,190 

Hardwoods 

Net increase in growing stock, 1936 27,650 54,390 82,040 

Total 

-.. Net growing stock, January 1, 1937 3,929,130 3,358,060 7,287,190 

Outlook for the Future 

The forest resources in southwest Arkansas seem to augur a favorable 

future for the communities and industries dependent thereon. The forest area 

of the unit is extensive, covering 68 percent of the land surface, and is well 

stocked with stands of fast-growing trees, for the many diversified commodities of which there exists a well-established market. The forest, the terrain, 

the climate, and the labor conditions are such that logging and transportation 

costs are relatively low. The annual increment of the forest, if used with a 

degree of restraint and a common-sense regard for the principles of forest 

cropping, probably can maintain indefinitely an annual harvest of forest 

products fully equal in volume to the 1936 drain without reducing the basic 

growing stock. 

The growing demand for the forest products of the region will tend to 

reduce the favorable margin existing in 1936 between increment and drain and 

will thus prevent the increase in the growing stock that is essential if the 

forests are to be utilized to their full producing capacity. Calculations 

show that at least for the next 10 years not more than 80 percent of the 

indicated annual increment should be harvested annually, if the growing stock 

is to be increased to allow an expansion of industrial development. With an 

addition of 20 percent of the increment each year to the growing stock, by 

1946 the area should produce an increment of 1,360 million board feet as 

against the present annual increment of 1,170 million feet; and during the 

same period the annual cut could be increased from 1,010 million board feet 

in 1936 to an annual cut in 1947 and thereafter of 1,360 million feet if the 

full amount of the increment were taken. 

The system of fire protection that the State Forest Service, with the 

cooperation of the Federal Government, has developed in recent years has al- 
ready had a notably beneficial effect. It should, however, be strengthened 

and extended to every part of the Unit, because continued and complete prevention of fire will reduce the mortality, speed up the growth, and increase 

the increment per acre of practically every forest stand in the area. 

The exercise of the necessary restraint in regulating the cut would be 

comparatively easy if the forest lands of the Unit were all under one ownership or control, but this is not the case. The timber lands are owned by many 

thousands of proprietors with many and diverse motives actuating their management policies, and to achieve the region-wide objective each one of these 

owners must act in accord with the general policy. Obviously a greatly extended campaign of education, demonstration, and perhaps actual aid is necesssry, in which public and quasi-public agencies must take the field in force. 

Although the existence of a good market for all classes of forest 

products, coupled with good growing conditions, makes this one of the most 

favorable regions in the South for profitable forest management under private 

ownership, one of the disquieting aspects of the future outlook, as small 

mills replace larger ones and pulp mills replace both, and as second-growth 

timber displaces old growth in the cut, is the marked trend to reduce the 

minimum diameter of the trees cut. This practice results in reducing materially the quality and consequently the unit value of the products harvested. 

This same trend is found throughout the South and foretells a gradual but 

inevitable revolution in the character of the forestinduszries. In other 

words, while the forest situation justifies the belief that the future 

output of wood can be maintained at lezst at the 1936 level, it is more 

than likely that the high-grade material that can come only from large 

trees will gradually be replaced by low-grade lumber, small poles, ties, 

and pulpwood. This can be pre~ented only through a very considerable increase in the number of acres that privzte owners are willing to put under 

loag-time management for high-grade sawtimber.